The trial was three months in length, and three arms (or groups) were compared: 1) Laughter yoga: This group received laughter yoga classes, “a combination of breathing exercises and laughter stimulated through playful eye contact,” and watched Japanese comedy once every two weeks for one hour.2) Music Therapy: This group was led in “listening to, singing, and stretching with music” in the same format as the laughter yoga group.3) The control group received no intervention.Both laughter yoga and music therapy groups showed significantly decreased cortisol levels (a measure corresponding with stress) following treatment sessions, and lower blood pressure immediately after the study; lower blood pressure persisted in both groups 3 months later, compared to the non-active control group.

The results are preliminary, as they have not yet been submitted to the rigorous process of peer review, and some experts question the findings due to the non-blinding of subjects. Still, the contributions raise interesting questions about the physiology of the role stress plays on blood pressure, as well as the unique contributions of yoga within this context. Says Eri Eguchi, lead researcher on the study, “We think yoga breathing may play some role for lowering blood pressure,” a link he’s planning to explore in future research.

Unclear from the press release is the specificity of the “laughter yoga” research protocol; that is, the proportion of time spent in each session devoted to watching Japanese comedy, and engaged in specific laughter yoga exercises. It sounds as if the laughter yoga element was primarily comprised of yogic breathing (pranayama) rather than yoga postures (asana); if so, this is the first study to document the positive role of yogic breathing on parameters of blood pressure and cortisol in synergy with laughter and humor.

Future studies should tease these elements apart and determine the differential contributions of laughter, humor, watching comedy, and yogic breathing on parameters of health.

Tosca Braun, a 200-hour Kripalu Yoga instructor and 500-hour Integrative Yoga Therapist, is a doctoral student in Clinical Health Psychology at the University of Connecticut, where she conducts research on yoga, mindfulness, and health with her mentor, Dr. Crystal Park, and collaborators. Prior to UConn Tosca spent five years as a research intern and project manager with Kripalu's Institute for Extraordinary Living, an organization devoted to the scientific study of yoga-based curricula. She holds bachelor's degrees from Reed College and SUNY Empire State College in history and health psychology, respectively, and has more than 2,000 hours of training in yoga, Ayurveda, and the mind-body connection.

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